Dr. Jeff Kopachena
STC, Rm 258
(Phone 903 886-5395) 
e-mail:  Jeff_Kopachena@tamu-commerce.edu

Office hours:   MWF 9:00 - 10:00, W 11:00 - 12:00, T 1:00 - 2:00

COURSE SYLLABUS

Classes:

Note:  This course emphasizes practical exercises.  As such not all of the lecture sections will meet in a classroom, but will, instead be held at field study sites. Also please note that Thursday classes will frequently run continuously from 11:00 AM until 3:20 PM.  For this reason you might need to bring a lunch or eat an early lunch.

Saftey Contract:

All students must read and sign the attached field safety contract.  Field Safety Contract

Lecture Sections: TR   11:00 - 12:15 Lab Sections: R 12:30 - 3:20

Textbooks:
  None

Course Objectives:

1) To engage in some simple field techniques used in ecological and management studies to survey habitat and census plant and animal populations.  This will provide an appreciation of the difficulty in obtaining precise and accurate data in field situations.

2) To develop a general understanding of the value of sample size and the need for statistics in field research.

3). To demonstrate some ecological principles using data collected in the field.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO's)

Students will know how to capture and census plants and animals

Students will know the basic principles of field study design

Student will know how to collect appropriate sample sizes and employ appropriate statistical designs

Course Topics:

For a Class Schedule Click Here

The course will be organized into a series of lectures and a series of field exercises. 

Lecture material will basically describe techniques, their underlying assumptions, advantages and disadvantages and basic statistical analysis. 

Field exercises are as follows:

1.  Mist netting and introduction to trapping

2.  The point quarter technique for tree surveys.

3.  Using nearest neighbor distances

4.  Quadrat sampling to measure habitat

5.  Multiple mark/recapture census technique

6.  Line intercept technique

7.  Drift fences and funnel traps for herp surveys

8.  Using the removal method to census bait fish

9.  Independent student research projects

Study Sites

All exercises will take place at one of the following study sites.  Locations will be announced in class and we will meet for field activities at the designated study sites.  Please download the attached maps to help find these study sites. 

TAMU-C  Study areas (line map)

Map

Map

Map

Map

Map

Reports should be written in scientific format.  They should start with a Title page, followed by: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Figures and Tables.  For instructions on how to write a report please visit the following link:

REPORT LINK

Please keep these reports simple, but thorough (ie. be succinct).  The introduction should briefly introduce the purpose of the excercise and should only be about 1/2 page long.  The methods section should briefly describe all the important equipment, techniques, and measurements made.  This section will be about 1 page long. The results section should be about 1 page long (not including figures and tables), should briefly describe the data obtained, any major trends in the data, and should provide quantitative summaries in the form of figures and tables.  Please put all of your figures and tables on separate pages and append them to the back of your report.  Number and label the figures and tables so that you can refer to them in the text of your report.  The discussion should also be about a page long and should briefly describe the important findings and how they relate to the underlying ecology of the study site and/or study species. 

Following this format each report should be 3 to 4 pages long (not including figures and tables).  The best reports will be those that are concise and well written.  Long-winded descriptions and discussion should be avoided.  Zero in on the pertinant details and avoid extraneous information.

The topic is open, but needs to be approved by your instructor.  In considering your project pay attention to logistics and time constraints. 

Research projects can be descriptive (easisest), comparative, or experimental (most difficult) and must involve statistical analysis.  You cannot use data from any of the field exercises, it must be your own data.  You are allowed to work in groups of up to four individuals.

In designing your research make full use of your instructors and local resources.  The university farm has 1300 acres that you can use, the study sites mapped for this class encompass 260 acres.  With permissions, you can also access area WMA's and preserves.  Also, find a suitable subject on your own property or on campus. 

The easiest projects involve habitat measurements. Some examples of projects you might do:

1.  Habitat selection among species of calling frogs

2.  Nest hole orientation and settlement patterns in eastern bluebirds.

3.  Habitat associated with red-tailed hawk perching sites.

4.  Tree species used by beaver

5.  Tree species communities relative to forest succession.

6.  Habitat and spatial dispersion of fire ant mounds

Your research project should be composed like a scientific paper, including an abstract, an introduction that includes appropriate literature citations, a methods section, a results section, a comprehensive discussion (with relevant literature citations), figures and tables, and a literature cited section. Use the Report Link above for proper formatting.

All students must prepare a powerpoint presentation of their research project.  If you are working in a group, a single presentation can be submitted with the names of all participants/  There can be no more than four participants.  If a group contains more than four participants, the grade for the project and the presentation will be reduced in proportion to the number of individuals exceeding four.  In other words, if there are five participants, 5 points (25%) will be deducted from the grade, if there are 6 participants, 10 points will be deducted.  Groups of 8 or more students will receive no points for their projects. 

In addition to electronically turning in the Powerpoint presentation, each group or student will be required to make an oral presentation to the class.  These presentations will be presented in Rm. 130 during the last two lecture/lab sections of the semester.  Presentations will be 15 minutes long with and additional 5 minutes for questions.  The order of presentations will be determined in class.

Obligatory Statements:

 Plagiarism is a criminal activity.  You must cite all sources of information.  Copying of material, whether parts of sentences, whole sentences, paragraphs, or entire articles, will result in a score of zero for your assignment and can result in further disciplinary action. 

 Collusion: Is intentionally aiding or attempting to aid another in an act of scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to, providing a paper or project to another student; providing an inappropriate level of assistance; communicating answers to a classmate during an examination; removing tests or answers from a test site, and allowing a classmate to copy answers.

 Students with Disabilities:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities.  Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation fo their disabilities.  If you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact:

Texas A&M University-Commerce
Gee Library, Room 132
Phone (903) 886-5150 or (903) 886-5835
Fax (903) 468-8148
StudentDisabilityServices@tamu-commerce.edu

 All student enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets of common decency and acceptable behavior conducive to a positive learning environment.  See Student's Guide Handbook, Policies and Procedures, Conduct. 

Students who are disruptive to class activities will be dropped from the class and may face further disciplinary action.